Jamie: Keep Cooking and Carry On
By Jamie Oliver
With tangy corn & pineapple salsa
About the recipe
An old Oliver classic, this is named after one of the most famous cricketers of all time, Mr Ian Botham, because – you guessed it – the burgers are cricket ball size. This bad boy was on the menu for many years at my mum and dad’s pub, and I used to help make them in the kitchen
Recipe From
2 leeks
olive oil
1 carrot
1kg minced beef
100g fresh or stale breadcrumbs
optional: 1 x 250g packet of cooked lentils
2 teaspoons Dijon or wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon baby gherkins
½ a bunch of fresh herbs (15g), such as parsley, mint
100g Cheddar cheese
SALSA
2 corn on the cobs
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 lime
½ a bunch of fresh soft herbs (15g), such as parsley, mint, chives, basil
1 fresh chilli
1-2 mixed-colour peppers
¼ of a ripe pineapple
200g ripe tomatoes, on the vine
30g feta cheese
Once you’ve shaped your patties, feel free to wrap and pop some in the freezer for another day.
I’ve used minced beef here, but minced pork would also be delicious, as would a mixture of the two.
My wife doesn’t like onions, so I’ve used leeks here, but by all means use white or red onions, or even use shallots or spring onions.
The lentils are optional, but they’re great for upping your veg count. Feel free to swap in drained tinned beans instead – just scrunch them with clean hands first to break them up a bit.
When it comes to herbs for your burgers, any soft ones will be delicious; parsley, mint, marjoram, chervil, tarragon, or you could even use rosemary or thyme.
For the salsa, it’s fine to use tinned or frozen sweetcorn, and you could swap in jarred peppers if you don’t have fresh. Carrot or cucumber would add a nice bit of crunch, and the pineapple could be tinned, or it could be peach, apple or pear. You need acidity for the salsa, so vinegar, lemon or lime juice are all good, or use a mixture.
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